HEALTH
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The need for continuing training and education for nurses is recognised. The post-basic school of the Nursing Training Unit provides post-registration courses in midwifery, health nursing and community nursing on a regular basis.
The departments of Diagnostic Sciences, Rehabilitation Sciences and Health Sciences of the Hong Kong Polytechnic provide training for para-medical and para-dental staff, including radiographers, optometrists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, medical laboratory technicians and dental technicians. There are opportunities for overseas training in specialised areas for medical, nursing, para-medical and para-dental staff. The Chai Wan Technical Institute of the Technical Education and Industrial Training Department pro- vides training for dispensers which is complemented by in-service departmental training. There is also in-service training for prosthetists, mould laboratory technicians and thera- peutic radiographers in the respective units of the government institutions.
Government Laboratory
The Government Laboratory offers comprehensive and impartial scientific advice and analytical services to government departments and public institutions. It undertakes analytical, advisory, and investigative work in chemistry and related sciences.
One of the functions of the laboratory is to examine food samples for the presence of residues of pesticides, hormones, animal drugs, and other potentially-hazardous chemicals. The monitoring of nitrosamines and radioactive contaminants in food commenced in 1989. These services are carried out under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance.
Close surveillance of pharmaceutical products for use in government hospitals and clinics is maintained to ensure that only medicines of acceptable quality are supplied to the public. Chemical tests for conformity to specified standards are also conducted on medicines intended for sale over-the-counter. Preparations of Chinese herbal medicines are analysed to detect possible adulteration with Western synthetic drugs and heavy metals.
During the year, chemical analysis of air, water and waste samples continued to be one of the main activities of the laboratory. The demand for asbestos identification, and for asbestos fibre counting in final air tests at the completion of asbestos-stripping operations, increased substantially last year and continues to increase.
The laboratory carries out tests on the identification and classification of dangerous goods. A 24-hour emergency service is also provided to cater for incidents involving chemical spills and chemical hazards.
Wines and spirits are routinely monitored for the presence of methyl alcohol and other contaminants in addition to determining their alcohol contents for duty assessment purposes. Other dutiable commodities, including tobacco, non-alcoholic beverages, beer, and cosmetic products, are examined for the assessment of duties while cigarettes continue to be analysed for their tar and nicotine contents.
Narcotics
Drug abuse is a multi-faceted problem with serious social, economic, legal, medical and psychological implications. The government's policy is to stop the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs into and through Hong Kong, to develop a comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation programme for drug addicts and to dissuade people, particularly young people, from experimenting with drugs so as to eradicate drug abuse in the community.
The exact number of addicts is not known. However, the government's computerised Central Registry of Drug Abuse and other linked indicators show that at the end of 1989